Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the red snapper
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See the fishing tripsThe Red Snapper
October to September
40 cm
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The Red Snapper belongs to the Lutjanidae. The red snapper reaches an average length of 60 cm, a maximum length of 100 cm and can weigh up to 9 kg. The maximum age is estimated at 40-50 years. The spawning season depends on the location. It can be fished from October to December.
This snapper has long pectoral fins and a truncated caudal fin. The first and second dorsal fins are continuous with a slight notch between the two and the anal fin narrows backwards. They have a large head with small red eyes and a somewhat pointed snout. The body and fins are pinkish red in color, turning white below. At a size of less than 35 cm, the northern red snapper has a dark spot on the upper sides below the anterior soft dorsal rays - similar to a number of other snappers. And although they are more similar to the black horned snapper (L. buccanella), the red snapper lacks the black spot characteristic of the snapper's pectoral fins. The juvenile red snapper may also have bluish stripes on the sides.
The Red Snapper lifestyle
The juvenile and adult red snapper is carnivorous, while adults are bottom-facing predators. Juveniles generally feed on zooplankton. But as they grow older, their diet shifts to larger prey, including shrimp, squid and octopus. The adult northern red snapper feeds on a variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and shellfish found in flat-bottomed areas adjacent to reefs.
All snappers are oviparous. The red snapper spawns in areas far from reefs, at a depth of 18 to 37 m, on flat, sandy bottoms. Peak spawning season is from June to August in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and from August to September in southwestern Florida. Individual fish can spawn several times during the spawning season and can produce more than 9 million eggs during a single spawning season. Red snapper eggs are pelagic, spherical and transparent and measure 0.8 mm in diameter. After spawning, the eggs float on the surface of the water. The eggs hatch 20 to 27 hours after fertilization.
The Red Snapper habitat
The adult red snapper lives off the continental shelf, above deep reefs, banks and rocky bottoms. Populations residing in such three-dimensional structures are generally larger than those of smooth bottoms. Adults of this species occur at depths ranging from 10 to 190 m. Older and larger fish tend to prefer the coldest and deepest places. Young people live on sandy and muddy bottoms that provide a food source in crustaceans for foraging juvenile fish.
This snapper occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts to Brazil, although it is rare in the northern Carolinas. It also occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Red Snapper angling
Ladybirds and squid are the two most effective baits for catching northern red snapper. They are caught with hand lines, bottom longlines and bottom trawls.
